Red handed
by WritingUtensil
Summary: Kagura's been leaving the Yorozuya often, and Gintoki wants to find out the reason behind it. Kagura x ? Unconventional pairing.


Disclaimer: Gintoki belongs to Hideaki Sorachi and of course, I don't own it. I only did this to write about one of my favourite pairings. This is my second attempt at a fanfic.

Summary: Kagura`s been leaving the Yorozuya often, and Gintoki wants to find out the reason behind it. Characters may be a little OOC.

Rating: T (I think)

Unexpected Pairings: Kagura x ?

Warnings: Most people might not like this pairing, and I've never seen fanart with this pairing. If you don't like, don't read. Please do not flame, thanks! Constructive criticism appreciated!

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**Red-handed**

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The first time Kagura was absent from her usual routine, Gintoki was preoccupied. He was reclining on the couch, studying the various manga introduced in the weekly Jump and muttering comments at the brilliance of their authors. Shinpachi mentioned that the loud, abrasive girl disappeared, but Otsuu-chan`s new single swayed him from pursing the topic. Only the resident mascot didn't dismiss the rare occurrence from his mind.

Therefore, nobody noticed when said girl entered the room, a jubilant twinkle in her eyes, and nobody reacted to the tiny wistful sigh that escaped her lips. The Yato girl perched her umbrella by the doorway, and kicked off her boots.

"It's a nice day, ne, Sadaharu?" Strangely, the weather was dreadful, and most of the people in Edo were holed up inside their houses, or like the ninja stalker, in someone else's residence. Running her fingers through the fine snowy fur, the teenager extracted a piece of sukonbu from its case. Gintoki and Shinpachi's eyes flickered to the figure petting the dog, but other than that, there was no sign of worry; their hobbies, after all, were higher priorities than a teenager's ever-altering adulations of nature.

The azure-eyed female stuck the last morsels of the snack into her mouth. She regarded the two distracted men, and turned on the TV, flipping through channels. None of the two Yorozuya humans saw her pause on a cheesy romantic drama, nor did they spot the fidgeting of her body.

The next morning, Shinpachi dusted the rooms and folded the laundry, his maternal instincts emerging due to his freelancer companions' neglect to perform chores. Gintoki leisurely propped his legs on the desk, and stared dispassionately at the bland ceiling while cleaning his ears. Kagura had already departed from the place. The humans reassured themselves that nothing was odd, and the arrival of their last Yorozuya member at noon assuaged their mild unease.

Lunch was, by Yorozuya standards, a relatively quiet affair, and the glasses otaku cradled his teacup in his lap, stirring up a generally one-sided conversation with the man across from him.

"Kagura-chan, so what did you do today?" The boy made a feeble attempt to invite her into the discussion.

The girl's glazed look faded from her visage and she grimaced. "It's none of business, you glasses-otaku."

Shinpachi froze for a few seconds, and then proceeded with taking another sip of his warm beverage. Her cold behaviour was rather normal. Slightly mollified, he eventually refocused on the samurai; however, the silver-haired man was also staring at the irritated female, who giggled to herself, the glassy look flittering across her face again.

Soon after that, a mission arrived. A bumbling spokesman had discovered their advertisement, and requested assistance to find his beloved possession, which had been acquired through dubious means. The Yorozuya recovered the item, and discovered that it actually belonged to someone else. This resulted in a massive fracas, and the thief that approached them was sent to the hospital after being convicted. Suffice to say, the pay from that job had been mediocre.

Immediately following the work, the female adolescent abandoned them again, vaguely saying that she had something else to do.

Shinpachi took care of the house chores. "Eto, Gin-san, don't you think that Kagura-chan's been acting a bit weird?"

"Leave it be. She's probably found some new hobby to consume her free time. As long as it doesn't interfere with her Yorozuya duties, I don't really care." The verdict was announced with Gintoki's usual nonchalance as light emitting from the television set shone dimly on his apathetic face.

At night, right before bedtime, Kagura returned to the snack house, and slid open the door; she changed out of her black Chinese outfit that Otae had bought her last week and prepared to sleep. Without so much as an acknowledgement towards the Jump lover, she climbed into the closet and flopped onto her futon. Trepidation filled the silver-haired human.

The subsequent morning, Gintoki changed the channel that the umbrella-wielding fighter was currently immersed in, to Ketsuno Ana's daily report. Both the otaku and the silver-haired man were expecting a brawl to break out instantaneously; however, the teen's response was to smile and pat the samurai on the head consolingly. The otaku's brow furrowed in confusion as Kagura snatched her umbrella and proclaimed that she was leaving.

In the wake of her departure, Shinpachi hesitantly treaded towards the sugar addict. "Gin-san-"

The samurai sent the ancient furniture tumbling towards Kagura's closet, mentally replaying the encounter that had occurred seconds before. "What was that?! She was supposed to get mad! There's something completely wrong with her, and did you see how she treated me like a child?"

"But-" The glasses character began, and was interrupted by his employer.

"She's constantly distracted, twiddling her hands, always laughing to herself and being…nicer!" The distressed man considered his words for a moment, contemplating on why the girl had suddenly adopted an altruistic temperament. A pause ensued as comprehension struck the duo. "Shinpachi, let's investigate."

In full cheering squad gear, the captain of the Otsu fanclub steered himself to the entrance. "You just told me before not to meddle. I'm going to a concert today, so I can't help you fulfill any orders to the Yorozuya today. In fact, I have to leave right… now." He hastened to slam the shoji door before sprinting to the train station, leaving the silver-haired male in the midst of his unwelcome epiphany.

Minutes ticked by as Gintoki paced frantically around the room in attempt to perish the notion. He skimmed over the Jump, and then threw it on the ground next to the Yorozuya mascot. "I know, why not just ask Kagura?" Sadaharu was staring morosely at his paws. "Of course it won't be that easy."

The girl in question came back in the afternoon, a blush evident on her porcelain features. She shuffled forward towards the silver-haired man in embarrassment.

"Kagura, is there something you haven't told me?" He squinted at her suspiciously.

The red-haired female pivoted on her heel and squirmed at his innuendo. "Well…I haven't fed Sadaharu, so I'll do that now. But I have to leave later for something." She strolled across the room and filled her pet's bowl. Grabbing a pack of sukonbu, she disappeared out the shoji doors.

Disturbing thoughts interwove themselves in the fabric of his mind, and the samurai decided that intervention, or at least an investigation was essential to remedying the problem. As soon as there was a safe distance between them, he tailed her.

She raced through the crowded streets, and past the red-light district, the glint of a purple umbrella signalling the Yato teenager's location. Finally she stopped in front of the park. The wide expanse of the recreational spot was more than enough for the red-head to play in. Gintoki expelled the pent-up tension that had steadily built up inside him.

The foolish assumption of a surreptitious rendezvous was expunged from his mind; the girl had just been visiting the place to admire the wonderful scenery. He was about to sit down on a nearby bench and observe the flurry of activity in the playing field when Kagura's ardent greeting reached his ears. Fearing for his life, he slowly craned his neck in her direction, but the words hadn't been directed at him.

The teenage female's mouth was moving: she was conversing with someone concealed behind an array of shrubs. The samurai tread carefully towards the girl holding a purple umbrella. Her animated countenance perturbed him and the apprehension that his worst fears had developed into reality increased.

For the first time in his life, Sakata Gintoki was terrified that he might actually be right.

"We could go to the beach!" The Yato adolescent continued with a rosy complexion while the silver-haired man crept stealthily towards the scene. She yanked on her companion's arm. "Or is there anything you want to do?" The female squeaked in astonishment and was pulled into the bushes. Gintoki sped towards the foliage, ready to appear beside them, discover the identity of the figure and strike the mysterious person down if the need arose.

What he witnessed was completely unexpected and mind-blowing: Kagura engaged in an intense lip-lock with, of all people in the universe…

"Sakamoto Tatsuma!" The businessman detached himself from the stunned red-haired girl and gave a sheepish grin, black sunglasses sliding down the bridge of his nose. The samurai's heart plummeted to his stomach with a sickening thud.

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"Ahhahah! Kintoki, you caught me red-handed."

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(A/N: Thanks for reading! Um... How do you do line breaks? The Shift and Enter isn't working for me.)


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